Liam Neeson is among a list of high profile actors who are calling for Kevin Spacey to be able to return to acting.
The Oscar winning actor has faced copious allegations of sexual misconduct, which first came to light in 2017, which saw streaming giants Netflix cut all ties with him.
Spacey was starring in popular Netflix series House of Cards at the time, who subsequently sacked him in light of the allegations.
However, Spacey was acquitted of several allegations of sexual abuse in a trial in London last year. He also won a civil lawsuit in the US, where he was accused of making unwanted sexual advances.
Despite his much publicised acquittal, Kevin Spacey has claimed that he still feels exiled by the entertainment industry, stating in an interview that he has been the victim of a “rush to judgement” following the #MeToo movement against disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.
This also comes in light of the recent Channel Four documentary, Spacey Unmasked, where fresh allegations of sexual misconduct were levelled against Spacey, which he also denied.
“our industry needs him” – Actors Call For Spacey Return
In statements shared to The Telegraph newspaper, several actors have backed Spacey, calling for his return to acting.
“Kevin is a good man and a man of character. Personally speaking, our industry needs him and misses him greatly”, Liam Neeson stated.
Other household names to show support for Spacey also include actress Sharon Stone.
She said, “I can’t wait to see Kevin back at work. He is a genius. He is so elegant and fun, generous to a fault and knows more about our craft than most of us ever will”.
She also added that it was also clear that young actors, “wanted and want to be around him”.
“It’s terrible that they are blaming him for not being able to come to terms with themselves for using him and negotiating with themselves because they didn’t get their secret agendas.
“clumsy and inappropriate”
Other household names to show their support for Kevin Spacey is actor, writer and comedian Stephen Fry.
While admitting that the actor had been both “clumsy and inappropriate”, on occasions, Fry blasted the documentary for its decision to “devote a whole documentary to accusations that simply do not add up to crimes… how can that be considered proportionate and justified?”.
Adding that the actor’s reputation has been “wrecked”, Fry also said: “Surely it is wrong to continue to batter a reputation on the strength of assertion and rhetoric rather than evidence and proof? Unless I’m missing something, I think he has paid the price”.
Trevor Nunn a former artistic director who worked with Spacey in two productions at The Old Vic in London, claimed that as he as been cleared in a court of law, the industry ought to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Calling him a “an actor of genius, on stage and on screen”, Nunn said: “In light of the court’s verdict, surely it is time for this man to be forgiven for whatever poor judgments he may have made in the past and allowed to resume his career, after seven years of exile?”.
“I vouch for him”
Oscar winner F Murray Abraham also defended Spacey: “I vouch for him unequivocally. Who are these vultures who attack a man who has publicly accepted his responsibility for certain behaviour, unlike so many others?”.
Kevin Spacey has won two Oscars in his career, the first coming in 1996 for best supporting actor for The Usual Suspects, before winning best actor in 2000 for American Beauty.
He also won a Bafta for leading actor for the same movie.
Last October, Spacey received a standing ovation from a crowd at a theatre in Oxford, where he was invited to perform a brief scene from Shakespeare play, Timon Of Athens.
This was Spacey’s first public performance since being cleared of the sexual assault charges.
